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Breaking Down Ragtag
Tag and rag was a relatively common expression in the 16th and 17th centuries, and it was often used pejoratively to refer to members of the lower classes of society. By the 18th century, the phrase had been expanded to ragtag and bobtail. That expression could mean either "the lower classes" or "the entire lot of something" (as opposed to just the more desirable parts—the entire unit of an army, for example, not just its more capable soldiers). Something described as ragtag and bobtail, then, was usually common and unspectacular. Ragtag and bobtail was eventually shortened to ragtag, the adjective we know today, which can describe an odd mixture that is often hastily assembled or second-rate.
Examples of ragtag in a Sentence
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 Apr. 2025
Nor had the West anticipated that the Houthis in Yemen, a supposedly ragtag militia that had received a large arsenal of missiles from Tehran, would be capable of bringing global shipping in the Red Sea to a near standstill.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Among those who’ll watch these movies in theater versus home, both Lilo and M:I 8 at 50 apiece are ahead of the MCU movie about ragtag heroes at 42.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 Apr. 2025
Jack Black parading around with a ragtag team that includes Jason Momoa in a long wig with shoddy bangs, the wolf girl from Wednesday, and the incredibly talented Danielle Brooks in a Minecraft movie directed by the guy who did Napoleon Dynamite sounds like the setup to an April Fool’s joke.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ragtag
Cite this Entry
“Ragtag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ragtag. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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ragtag
adjective
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